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Wednesday, 31 August 2011

This treat ball is great fun for dogs, and we have one to giveaway to a lucky follower. Henry tried one out recently and he loved it.

You can place your dog's favourite treats in the ball, and he then has to work to get the treats out. The opening is adjustable, so you can change the size of the hole depending on the size of treats used and how difficult you want to make it for your dog. Henry soon discovered that pushing the ball around and around made the treats fall out - the only problem was he wasn't very good at controlling the ball - he started in one room and ended up dribbling it through the hallway into another room! I don't think he'd make a great footballer! He also likes to pick the ball up and throw it down so some treats fall out.

Because Henry is on a diet, we took a hand full of his normal food out of his supper allowance so that he wasn't getting any extra calories. I think he really enjoys having some of his food this way - he always looks very happy when he sees the treat ball! This is a great toy for keeping Henry busy and occupied, and I'd recommend it for dogs that love to play and work for their treats.

Giveaway

One lucky follower will win a Dog Life Treat Ball. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is -

Follow this blog using Google Friends Connect

Leave a comment below with a way to contact you (email or twitter user name).

Bonus entries

There are two ways of getting extra entries

Please make sure you leave me a separate comment below for each one, telling me you've done this for your extra entries to count

1. Follow me on twitter @juliebarrett62 and tweet about this competition giving a link to this blog entry. You can write your own comment or copy and paste this one-

Monday, 29 August 2011

Being both a diabetic and a chocoholic is a very bad mix! Fortunately my diabetes is very well controlled and I am able to occasionally have a treat without it adversely affecting my sugar levels. But I was still very excited to have found a chocolate that has no added sugar; after all it's got to be better for me. However the big question is - does it taste as good? Let's find out more.....

Conscious Chocolate creates organic, raw, handmade bars that are free from pesticides, dairy, gluten, soya and refined sugars. Conscious Chocolate is only sweetened with blue agave nectar (cactus syrup). Agave nectar is suitable for diabetics as it is 85% fructose and has a low glycaemic index and glycaemic load (GI & GL) so it doesn’t imbalance the natural blood sugar levels.

To be honest I wasn't really sure what 'raw' chocolate was, but from a good read up on Conscious Chocolate's website I found it meant that during the making process it was always kept below 42 degrees C. Because the organic cacao beans are fermented at low temperatures and sun-dried, not roasted, the bars remain packed full of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, flavonoids and theobromine that make chocolate so good for you. Yes, chocolate can be good for you!

I was kindly sent two bars to try - Essential Orange and Healthy Heart. I tried the Healthy Heart bar first, which contains maca, vanilla pods and blue-green algae (!). The last ingredient initially put me off, but luckily I couldn't detect any taste of it! As soon as I opened the packaging I was hit by the rich, chocolate aroma. The chocolate looked very different in appearance to any bars I've seen before; it doesn't have the usual glossy appearance, which I assume is because it's raw. It had a lovely texture though, and was very truffle-like - yum!

Obviously having no added milk these bars are very dark, and you only needed to nibble small pieces to get the full flavour. It was delicious, luxurious and very rich. I couldn't manage much at a time (very unusual for me!) which is great if you are watching your weight, as you don't need to eat a king size bar to get your daily chocolate fix!

The Essential Orange bar was my favourite of the two. It is described by Conscious Chocolate as 'a gorgeous blend of orange flavours, smooth and creamy for a flavour that is both comforting and heavenly' and they're not far wrong! It's like a healthy chocolate Orange - perfect!

If you like your chocolate sweet and milky then these are probably not for you. But if you're a fan of dark chocolate, you will love these bars. They are full of top quality, healthy ingredients and obviously made with lots of love. For more information and to purchase a bar to try visit www.consciouschocolate.co.uk

This time next week Henry and I will be in Cornwall - can't wait! We're going with my brother, Alan, and my sister-in-law, Sarah. I think they're planning on visiting wildlife parks and other attractions, but Henry and I will be content with a change of scenery and an escape from the same old four walls!

I'm really looking forward to it - fingers crossed that the weather is kind to us!

Friday, 26 August 2011

Tomorrow is the first anniversary of the day Henry saved my life. Without him I wouldn't be here to tell the tale. I have very little recollection of this day, but my Mum and my Aunt have told me all about how wonderful Henry was.

I would bore you all with all the details, but basically I'd been unwell for a day or so, but Mum and I put it down to my M.E. I was asleep on the sofa when Henry started acting very strangely. Barking, howling, jumping on me, then grabbing the sleeve of mum's jumper and pulling her over to me. After checking me, Mum realised I wasn't just asleep - I was unconscious and had a dangerously high temperature.

After being rushed to hospital Doctors diagnosed me with septicemia which was caused by a strep infection. I had to have an operation to remove some infected tissue from my leg, and was very ill for over a couple of weeks. If I had been left without treatment for any longer the outcome would have been alot different.

I don't know how he knew that I was so ill - but I'm very grateful that he did!

Recently Henry was lucky enough to try the Antos Cerea range of dog chews, which he loved. You can see his review here. Now it's Skipper and Bandit's turn to try some tasty Antos snacks. They had the lovely job of tasting some of the Antos Chicken D'Light snacks.

The Chicken D'Light treats are made from 100% chicken breast (apart from the Duck Chicken D'Light which is made from 100% Duck breast). These snacks are 100% natural, a good source of protein and are low in fat. There are no artificial flavourings, colourings or preservatives and each 100g pack is re-sealable, ensuring the meat is kept fresh.

They come in five different varieties - Fillet, Steak, Duck, Sticks and Steak & Cheese. Skipper and Bandit got to try the Chicken Fillet and the Duck varieties. The fillet packet contained large dried chicken fillets, whilst the duck packet had smaller strips.

These must smell really tasty as they dogs were very keen to find out what was in the packets! They tried the duck variety first which were long strips and were gobbled up quickly, especially by Bandit! They made a great quick treat to reward good behaviour. They are low in fat as well so they are ideal for dogs who are watching their weight.

Next we tried the chicken fillets, which were larger than the duck variety. Bandit, being the greedy one of the two, tucked into his straight away and really enjoyed it. Skipper can be very fussy so when he initially just sniffed and licked the chicken fillet I thought he wasn't going to like it. But he was soon taking the treat under a chair (so Bandit couldn't steal it!) and tucking in. He must have enjoyed it too as he kept trying to pinch more out of the packet!

My overall impression was that these were good quality treats that the dogs really enjoyed. Skipper and Bandit are used to having biscuits and chews so it was nice to give them a different type of treat, and it was even better that they were natural and so good for them.

You will find Antos' range of dog snacks in many pet shops and garden centres. They are also available from many online stores, a list of which can be found at www.antosuk.com

Since we adopted Henry he’s always had problems with his nose getting dry and sore.As you can see from the photo below it gets very dry and looks ‘warty’ in appearance.It can get quite sore for him sometimes too, as he tries to rub at it with his paw.So we were pleased when the lovely people at Nurtured Pets sent us some NurturSalve to try.

The skin on the top of Henry's nose gets very dry - perhaps that's why he looks miserable in this photo!

When we first tried to use the NurturSalve on Henry’s nose he wasn’t too keen.I’m not sure if it was because it has a fairly strong (but pleasant) scent from the various essential oils used, or just because he didn’t want us to touch his nose.However he was soon bribed with some tasty treats and we have applied it daily for a few weeks.

After just a few days we started to notice a difference in the skin on the top of his nose. Because the top of his nose was dry and cracked it looked almost white in appearance, rather than the normal brown colour on the rest of his nose.It certainly looked healthier and must have been more comfortable for Henry.

Weeks later the improvement is now even greater, the skin is less bumpy and warty and looks a lot healthier and more ‘normal’.We were really pleased with the product; it made a big difference to the health of Henry’s skin.I’m not sure how well it shows up on this photo, but both the appearance and feel of Henry’s nose is much better.

This would make a great standby product to keep in your doggy first aid kit.A little goes a long way; you only need to use a small amount, so a pot lasts a long time.I know a lot of older dogs that suffer from cracked paws, so I will be recommending this product to them (or to their owners anyway!)

For more information about NurturSalve and other products in the Nurtured Pets range please visit www.nurturedpets.co.uk

Thursday, 25 August 2011

Three years ago today we made the best decision we've ever made, when we brought Henry home with us from the rescue centre. He was a very different dog then - skin and bone, bad skin, infected ears, sad, scared and really confused. He hated doors being closed, had separation anxiety and hadn't been socialised with other dogs. At the time I was suffering badly with depression and anxiety, and when I looked in his eyes I could see the same fear and uncertainty looking back at me. We bonded instantly.

It must have been so confusing for him. Left alone for weeks, then dropped at a boarding kennels and never collected. There must have been so many thoughts going through his head, wondering what he'd done wrong and why his family had deserted him.

This is Henry on the day we collected him. He's altered so much since then and has blossomed into the most amazing dog I've ever known. We are so lucky to have him in our lives.

When I see Soya products it always conjures up bad memories of being a small child in the 80s and having to have soya milk on my cereal as dairy products aggravated my eczema. I have to be honest and say I hated it! It almost put me off milk for life - I take my coffee black and if I have cereal I only use a tiny bit of milk. Thankfully soya products have improved in leaps and bounds over the last 30 odd years!

Alpro Soya produce a large range of products including milk and yogurt alternatives. Alpro soya is made with all the plant goodness of soya so it's naturally low in saturated fat and lighter for you. And because plant proteins use less of the Earth’s resources than animal proteins, it’s lighter for the planet too – in fact, its lighter all round!

My family and I were sent some Alpro Soya desserts to try and I admit to getting my sister-in-law, Sarah, to trying them first - I just couldn't get those bad memories out of my head! Sarah assured me that the desserts were delicious, and you couldn't tell they were dairy free, so I gave them a try - and I'm glad I did!

Being fully paid up chocoholics, the first dessert we tried was the Dark Chocolate flavoured one. I think one word sums this dessert up - 'Yum'! Creamy and really chocolatety it's hard to believe it contains just 93 calories and 2.2g of fat. These desserts are ideal for people who are watching their weight but still need a chocolate fix. They are long-life too so are a great stand by product to keep for those moments when nothing but chocolate will do.

This caramel flavour dessert is just 82 calories, low in saturated fat and has added calcium and vitamins. It also happens to be really creamy and tasty! We loved this flavour too, it was so creamy. I've also spotted a recipe on the Alpro Soya website for a Banoffee Tart made using this product, and I can't wait to try it out.

The Alpro long-life desserts are also available in Vanilla and milk Chocolate flavours. These creamy desserts are carefully full of plant goodness and naturally low in fat. They are also free from artificial sweeteners and colours.

I'd highly recommend these products to everyone, whether dairy intolerant or not. I just wish these were available when I was at school, they'd have made a great addition to my packed lunches! For more information about Alpro and their products please visit www.alprosoya.co.uk

I've only been blogging for about a month now, and I'm so pleased to see I've already cracked 100 followers! When I started the blog I thought I'd be talking to myself, so it's great to see so many readers already. Thank you all so much for following us.

I hope you enjoy my reviews, competitions and general ramblings. Henry and I have got some great competitions lined up for next month - so stay tuned.

Henry and I would love even more followers so please do recommend us to your friends, and feel free to share our competitions and reviews on Facebook, Twitter etc.

From the Gourmet Chocolate block collection this is a 80g block of top quality milk chocolate. This melt-in-the-mouth creamy chocolate from Madagascar (32% cocoa) has been given that extra crunch! Vibrant, lightly salted pieces of roasted pistachio have been added to create the perfect balance between silky sweet and subtly savoury.

I know salt with chocolate may sound a little odd, but this really is delicious. The milk chocolate is really creamy and smooth and the nuts really complement it. It honestly is yummy - in fact I don't really know why I'm giving it away!

At just £1.89 for a 80g block (or 3 for £5) why not try a new chocolate experience today?

Giveaway

One lucky follower will win a Thorntons Lightly Salted Pistachio Chocolate block. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is -

Follow this blog using Google Friends Connect

Leave a comment below with a way to contact you (email or twitter user name).

Bonus entries

There are two ways of getting extra entries

Please make sure you leave me a separate comment below for each one, telling me you've done this for your extra entries to count

1. Follow me on twitter @juliebarrett62 and tweet about this competition giving a link to this blog entry. You can write your own comment or copy and paste this one-

Friday, 19 August 2011

We've not had much of a summer and now autumn is fast creeping up on us. The weather is turning cold and we will soon be digging out our winter woollies. I always dread the cold weather as the pain from my fibromyalgia gets alot worse. Wrapping up with scarves and blankets helps keep my muscles warm and less painful, but it's hard to look stylish bundled up in my nan's old blanket!

Next offer an on-trend solution to keeping warm as the weather gets slightly colder with their new collection of His and Hers snoods. Until recently I thought snoods were worn only by greyhounds and whippets to keep their long, sleek necks warm! But the snood is no longer just a fashion accessory for dogs!! Over the last year snoods have become the must have 'It' accessory worn by the likes of Lady Gaga and Rhianna as well as many top footballers.

This stunning snood will finish off any outfit perfectly and is a bargain at just £8. It's so stylish I'm almost wishing the cold weather would arrive now so I can buy this beautiful and practical snood.

This Faux Fur Hood Snood is on the top of my winter wardrobe wish list. It has an edgy look and will help you stand out from the crowd. It looks so snuggly and warm! Not only will it keep your neck warm but it'll keep your head warm too! It will look perfect with any outfit and at £20 it's great value too.

Tuesday, 16 August 2011

Today is the first anniversary of one of the worst days of my life. Dad was rushed into hospital suffering from septicemia, caused by a Strep infection. The next few days and weeks were a total nightmare, we were told on four separate occasions to prepare for the worse as Dad wasn't expected to last the night.

The infection attacked most of Dad's organs, causing his lungs to collapse and a heart attack. The infection ate away at his leg leading to several operations. On paper, he shouldn't be here. It's thanks to the wonderful care he received in Intensive Care and other wards, as well as his bravery and fighting spirit, that he is here to tell the tale.

He has spent much of the last year in hospital. In March he was allowed out of hospital to attend my brothers wedding. Two days later he was back in the High Care Unit having suddenly deteriorated. Again we were told he wouldn't make it. But after having his leg amputated at the end of March he has progressed really well and has now been home for a few weeks.

When you are feeling peckish during the day it's all too easy to reach for an unhealthy snack like a packet of crisps or a bar of chocolate. I've tried to make an effort to keep some healthier snacks in the house, but apart from fruit I couldn't really think of what to get! It's just all to easy to put those packs of biscuits in the trolley! So when I heard about a company who deliver boxes of healthy snacks to your door or desk I thought it was a fantastic idea and was keen to find out more.

The Graze boxes contain four punnets of different snacks, each chosen for you from their huge range of over 100 different snack selections. You can choose which day your box is delivered and how often - weekly, twice a week etc. The box is sturdy and well designed and easily fitted through our letter box, so I didn't need to worry about being in when the post arrived.

The snacks I received were:

Copacabana - Brazil nuts, dark chocolate buttons and milk chocolate buttons. I wasn't expecting to receive any chocolate in my Graze box so this was a lovely surprise. A lovely combination of good quality chocolate and large, crunchy Brazil nuts. Yum!

Fiery Seeds - pumpkin and sunflower seeds with chilli. I'll admit that I'm not a big fan of spicy foods and these were hot, hot, hot so not really for me. My friend tried these for me and she loved them, she said they were ideal to pick at or 'graze' from throughout the day.

Cheddar Gorge - salsa corn sticks, baked herb bites and cheese cashews. My family say I'm a 'Cheese Monster' so a cheesy snack that was healthy sounded ideal for me. This was a great combination of textures and flavours, and made a tasty, satisfying snack.

Eleanor's Apple Crumble - dried apple, sultanas with honey and cinnamon almonds. My favourite! The honey and cinnamon almonds were simply delicious (although I only got to eat two - my mum and dad scoffed the rest!) and they were perfectly complemented by the dried fruit.

I loved three out of the four snacks, and it's only really me being a wimp with hot food that stopped me enjoying the fourth. The brilliant thing with Graze is that you can let them know which of their snacks you do and don't like by rating them as 'Love', 'Like', 'Try' or 'Bin' so I could choose not to have spicy treats in my next box.

With the box you get a little leaflet telling you all about the snacks in your box. This is personalised for you, which I thought was a lovely touch, and includes nutritional information about each snack. Also included are four vouchers for a free box to pass onto friends.

The only negative point I found was you couldn't reseal the actual punnets in between 'grazing', but I kept them in the cardboard box which you could close and this seemed to keep them fresh. To be honest they weren't really around long enough to go stale anyway as they were so moreish!

At just £3.49 a box including delivery this is good value, especially as it's so convenient. There is currently an offer at www.graze.com where you can get your first box FREE and your second box half price. It's easy to cancel or change your order at any time, there's no commitment, so why not give it a try!

Luke has been looking for a home for over a year now, he's a great boy who deserves a chance. He is at the same rescue kennels as Henry, and I was there the first day Luke arrived looking so sad and confused. Please help if you can.

A message from Luke -

Hi everyone my name is Luke and I am a beautiful 2 year old male Staffie. Life hasn't been easy for me and unfortunately I ended up in the kennels. The kennel staff are lovely but they are so busy they just don't have the time to give me all the love and cuddles I would like and I have been rather stressed by everything that has happened - and just like a child I have been a little bit naughty as a result.

I couldn't believe my bonio's when one day a lovely couple came along and saw me for the insecure, scared and unloved boy I was. Unfortunately these people couldn't keep me forever as they have to go to work, but they have been taking me home with them every weekend for the last few months.

I have enjoyed being loved so much that nearly all of my naughtiness has gone. I didn't know how good it would feel to have a home with people who accepted me ...... and I did apologise for chewing up a dustpan (ooopppss).

Anyway here is what they told the kennels about me:

'We have had Luke at week ends for the last couple of months and what a journey it has been. This was only our second part time foster dog and we were dog rookies, never having owned a dog ourselves, and not in a position to have a dog full time even now. We just simply wanted to try and make a difference to some of the dogs at St Giles and as Luke was one of their long termers, we decided to give him a go.

No wonder Luke was a long termer!!! He came to us a stressed, mistrustful, naughty little boy, who we could not allow past the kitchen for the first few weeks in fear of what havoc he would create in the house. He had no house manners or respect at all and it soon became obvious to us the kind of background he must have come from, left to his own devices in some back yard where it didn't really matter what he got up to and then eventually turned out onto the streets. At one stage, we took him back to kennels part way through a long weekend as we just felt so overwhelmed with him, but thank goodness we had him back the next week end. After a lot of hard work and patience, Luke has now come to realise that there is so much more to life than abuse and neglect, and that love and respect really can be a two way process. Luke didn't know how to relax when he first came to us, and no matter how tired he became on long, long walks, he just could not rest. Now, he loves nothing more than a snuggle up on the settee and a long sleep with us beside him, snoring and farting in the way only staffies can.

He travels really well in his crate in the car, and sleeps at night in a crate outside our bedroom - he is fine if he can see us. He is doing really well with his general crate training now, and will stay in his crate in the kitchen on his own for quite a while - we just shout from another room and let him know we are still around if we hear him whining and he settles down again then. I wouldn't like to leave him home alone at the moment though. He has never messed in the house, and is a sheer delight to walk on the lead, never pulling and seems disinterested in other dogs. We do let him off lead when we go cross country and he just loves running to fetch his stick/ball to bring back to us. We always put him back on the lead if other dogs approach, as Luke can become quite possessive over his stick. He is fine with the dogs themselves, juts don't get near his stick!!! Having said that, today he was mobbed by 3 totally out of control dogs whilst he was off the lead himself and he was just perfect, he did not respond at all and just waited for us to put his lead back on and lead him away from danger.

He does love to snuggle up on the settee/bed with us, and we do let him wander around the house briefly without constant supervision, although we still get a shoe or towel brought into us. I wouldnt leave him unattended for any period of time though, a crate really is essential to keep him out of mischief. He does have a pretty short attention span and we have found that he needs a toy in his mouth most of the time that he is conscious, saves on the the shoes!!! He doesn't actually chew them, just mouths them and he will let you open his mouth to extract what it is in there that he shouldn't have. If he starts to get a bit over excited, we just put him in his crate for time out and he seems to appreciate that and settle down.

Luke simply loves being out and about and has learnt to swim, we don't think that he had been in water before judging by his reaction. He is excellent off lead and ignores cattle and other livestock. We have taken him into town and he walks the main streets really, really well on the lead. He comes to the pub with us at the week ends and sits and behaves, unless we are eating and then he will want to share.... but will be presuaded to get back under the table.

Luke may be too boisterous for children, and I would not trust him with a cat. Other dogs may be OK, but I'm not sure if he would share his toys that well so probably best if he was the only dog.

We would be more than happy for you to visit Luke whilst he is with us at home. The Luke you see in kennels is not the Luke you will be adopting, he still has some issues in kennels which come out in his behavior when he is there but he is a different dog when you get him away from that environment. - come have a walk with us and see what an absolute darling this dog is.'

Well as you can see I really need a home with someone who understands me and is willing to work with me. It's going to take a special person who understands my breed and has a big heart.... I just know my forever home is out there somewhere and I promise to give you all the doggy love (and kisses) that you can ever want.

Monday, 15 August 2011

Fussy eaters can be difficult to deal with - whether it's children or dogs! Making sure they get all the essential nutrients they need can be a never ending battle.

Our fussy eater is Skipper, a one year old lurcher, (definitely not Henry - we have trouble getting him NOT to eat!). You think you've found him something he likes to eat then he'll suddenly go off of it for a few days. He's a very active dog, he just doesn't stay still for a second, so when he doesn't eat for a day or two he loses a bit of weight. Just when we get him back up to his ideal weight, he stops eating for one reason or another - after he recovered from his neutering operation or when he had a bug for example, or just because he doesn't like his food any more.

During these periods we struggle to get any decent food down him, and we worry that he's not getting all the vitamins and minerals he needs, but now we've found something that could help with this and help him to gain weight. Mark and Chappel Nurish-UM is a high calorie nutritional supplement containing essential vitamins and minerals

Fortified with Vitamins A, D, E and B vitamins

Contains Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Biotin, Taurine and Iron chelates

These nutrients work together as an aid in maintaining your pets overall health. This is especially important if your pet is not eating sufficient amounts of food for nutritional support.

Nurish UM is a paste which your dog can eat daily, either by licking it off the end of the tube, from a spoon or hidden in food. Being so fussy I was very sceptical about Skipper eating the paste, but he loves it! He licks it straight off the tube and he gets so excited when I get the packet out, so it must be very tasty indeed.

It's helping maintain his weight, and more importantly it is ensuring he is getting all the essential nutrients he needs. It is definitely no hardship for Skipper, he doesn't see it as having 'medicine' all he knows he's getting a really tasty treat.

I'd definitely recommend Nurish-UM. It's ideal for use when your dog is recovering from an illness, surgery or when you're trying to help your pet gain weight. The paste is high in energy to encourage quick recovery and contains only natural flavourings whilst being rich in omega 3, omega 6 and biotin to help the digestive system and metabolism. For more information please visit www.markandchappell.com